A Userguide To Understanding Joker

Question 1: How Do You Gain The Joker's Trust

But no one ever gave any thought to what that might be like for him. They treated him as a monster. Did they really expect him to behave as anything else? Did they really think he would open up to them? That he would bare his soul? He had too much contempt for them. He couldn't trust them. And without trust, you'll never be able to get anywhere with him.

The guards leave me with the Joker staring blankly out the window. I know it's blankly because I so do not have a view. My office window has a view of the incinerator stack. And that's absolutely it. But then, he could very well be thinking about putting me in it... Definitely can't rule that out.

I fold my hands on top of my desk. They're shaking. I'm shaking. Not just in my hands, but my entire body. This could very well be the day I die. Because I was planning something that some could argue was pure lunacy.

"Good morning Mister J," I nervously swallow.

The Joker slowly, and with rolling eyes, turns his attention to me. "Doc-tor," he plainly says. After a moment of silence his head slightly cocks. Perhaps he's deciding how he's going to try to ignore me today. Maybe he's curious as to what my next words will be. Or, today's defiance might just be a cocked head and a stare.

Still, I knew what needed to be done. I nervously clear my throat and speak, "Today, I was hoping that you and I could discuss trust."

His lips take on the slightest smirk as he continues to stare at me, unblinking as usual. "What would you know about trust?" He asks me.

I swallow and take my hands down off the desk. It was time to bite the bullet. I slowly go to my knees. His absent eyebrows go high up on his forehead. His eyes begin to sparkle and dance as he waits to see what I'm doing. I reach into the pocket of my lab coat and pull out a key. I lean in and reach for his ankles. My hands shake so bad that I can barely get the key into the first shackle.

Then I hear his voice purring, "Hey uh doc, while you're down there...Ha Ha Hahahaha..." I unlock each of the shackles and rise to my feet. When my eyes meet his he has a smug and sarcastic smile. But it quickly goes blank "Do you know how many ways I can kill you now?" He curiously asks me?

"Yes," I swallow hard and look down at his file.

"Oh, I see," he nods, "You're trying to gain my trust. Is that it? Well bravo for your efforts doctor, but I'm afraid it's going to take more than that."

I sit back down, "Since you seem convinced that I know nothing about trust, maybe you could tell me about it."

He glares at me, "I trust no one doctor."

"No one? A person who can trust no one is a person who has no one. No family. No friends. No love interests." I look at him intently.

"And I'm all the better for it," he hisses. He looks away with a distant stare and shakes his head, "Trust is merely a weapon waiting to be used."

"Sounds lonely," I say.

His eyes return to mine, "Loneliness is the human condition doctor. I know that exhaustingly thick file laying in front of you says that I'm inhuman, but I assure you I'm quite human."

I wasn't sure if he was confirming that he was lonely, or trying to convince me that he wasn't inhuman. But the flustered look on his face suggested that he was insulted. "Are you saying that you're lonely?"

"That all depends on the context of your line of questioning," he says, his eyes studying me.

"I'm not sure if I follow," I say.

"Well loneliness can be applied to many situations," he begins, "And my answers are different for each. For instance, you might be thinking about my family. Maybe I killed them? Maybe I pushed them away? Maybe I don't have a family at all? Maybe I did but no longer do, for whatever reason? Maybe they're out there shaking their heads in shame at all my misdeeds? Maybe I don't remember them? Maybe they don't know I'm me? Maybe they are hiding from me? But until I understand the root of the implied question, my answer can only be inconclusive as well. Because each of those questions would be answered differently. But then you could be referring to friendships. Maybe even romantic interludes. And each of those has a dozen sub questions for which I have assorted answers. Are you catching my drift doctor?"

I realized that this was our first actual conversation. He spoke in such an animated voice. His tone rises and falls like music. The words flow out in a pace that doesn't suggest he has to think about them. Almost as if they were a rant he's been dying to get out. He puts emphasis on certain words. The ones that he want me to pay attention to.

But where I had expected words that cemented his insanity, I found none. What he said made perfect sense. And he was right. My question was vague, therefore so was his answer, or lack thereof one. Had all of his other therapists hit this same wall? Of course they had. And instead of trying to get through it, they threw their hands in the air.

They simply didn't care that he was a patient. They overlooked the fact that he was probably the patient who needed their help the most. When he was brought through the door of Arkham all they saw was his crimes. They were afraid of him. So none of the doctors here ever cared if he was properly diagnosed or treated. But until I gain his trust, I couldn't do those things either.

I knew what I had to do. I stand once more and cross over behind him. His eyes follow me as long as they can. My quivering hands reach out and start to unbuckle his straight jacket. Once the final buckle is undone he starts to shuck it off. I turn to go back to my seat. But my back is barely turned when he grabs me around my waist. He spins and pins my back into the wall. His hands forcefully take my wrists and pin them above my head.

His green eyes prowl my body, "I'm not sure if you're brave or just plain stupid," he says. "Normally I would punish someone for this level of stupidity," he stares at me intently fir a long moment, like he's trying to make sense of my decision. Finally his face turns playful and he smiles at me.

Joker's POV

"Ha Ha Hahaha, I like your style doc," I laugh. I knew what she was doing. She was trying to gain my trust. A stupid naive rookie mistake. Easily manipulated. I could snap her neck in a second. But, this was the most fun I've had in months. Perhaps she can be useful to me. So I won't kill her. Not today.

So I'll play along with her little game. I release her from my grasp, but she just stays paralyzed on the wall. Her eyes are terrified but quickly start to relax as she realizes that I haven't killed her.  I casually turn and stand at her desk. I flip through my file. So she wants to fix me, does she? Well she's got a sense of humor, I'll give her that much.

"You're right doctor. I am quite alone. I have been for so long that I forget what it's like not be," I glance up at her, "and yes, it gets...lonely." I watch as her expression softens. She was putty in my hands now.